http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/renaissance Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Wed, 06 May 2026 05:00:37 -0400 Wed, 06 May 2026 05:00:37 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1923/medusas-blood-on-the-ovidian-assertion-of-fame-in-cellinis-perseus By Hannibal De Pencier - Cast in one piece of bronze in 1554, Benvenuto Cellini'sPerseus with the Head of Medusa representeda monumental feat of artisticvirtuosity. Viewers marvelled at the imposing size of the bronze, the sense of liquid tactility in the blood pouring from either end of Medusa's neck, and—most importantly to Cellini himself—they marvelled at the artist's skill. Ostensibly meant to allude to the political mastery of Grand Duke Cosimo I de Medici, the sculpture's Ovidian iconographic program is demonstrably concerned with aggrandizing Cellini's generative power and asserting the artist... Tue, 30 Nov 2021 09:27 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1923/medusas-blood-on-the-ovidian-assertion-of-fame-in-cellinis-perseus http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1704/jazz-is-my-story-a-historical-analysis-of-jazz-and-20th-century-african-american-literature By Anjali J. Misra - The period of time from the Bebop era to the present—mid-1940s onwards—has been an era of great cultural evolution in the United States, and in few groups more so than the African American community. A factor particularly significant in this journey, and one with which jazz music has been closely tied over the past century, is African American literature. This genre, more colloquially called black literature, has only been a formal notion since the Harlem Renaissance (from roughly 1919 to 1939), during which prominent black leaders sought to elevate black culture and status by producing... Wed, 15 Nov 2017 10:26 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1704/jazz-is-my-story-a-historical-analysis-of-jazz-and-20th-century-african-american-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1431/erasmus-and-the-transformation-of-early-modern-political-authority-in-the-education-of-a-christian-prince By Zachary S. Brown - Often called the “prince of the humanists” Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) was one of the most influential European philosophers and theologians of the early modern period. However, today he is often overshadowed by his more radical contemporaries, particularly Niccolò Machiavelli, and regarded as a quixotic moderate. This article seeks to challenge this traditional view of Erasmus by exploring the rhetoric and claims of one of his most famous works, The Education of a Christian Prince (1516), a political advice manual written to the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. An... Sun, 07 Aug 2016 09:35 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1431/erasmus-and-the-transformation-of-early-modern-political-authority-in-the-education-of-a-christian-prince http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1047/teresa-of-avilas-the-interior-castle-as-an-individualizing-text By Carla M. Sanchez - Teresa of Avila has long been respected as one of the most significant theologians to emerge from Spanish Catholicism. Her determined leadership inspired the founding of many convents throughout her homeland and ignited a reform within the Carmelite order of nuns. Yet, Teresa’s influence extended beyond the sacred walls of her cloister. Despite historical misogynistic efforts to deny the importance of her spiritual treatises, her ardently thoughtful work is now acknowledged as being partially responsible for “moving contemplative medieval traditions into a new age” by adapting... Fri, 12 Jun 2015 09:02 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1047/teresa-of-avilas-the-interior-castle-as-an-individualizing-text http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1045/the-development-of-the-printing-press-and-the-decline-of-the-chronicle-as-historical-method By Emily (Chavie) D. Sharfman - In his work The Idea of History, philosopher and historian Robin Collingwood outlines the development of historiography by leading his audience on a European cross-continental journey through time. He identifies the early modern period as a point at which there was a distinct change in historical writing. The Renaissance historians of this period brought about “a fresh reorientation of historical studies,” which manifested itself in a more narrative style of writing. The chronicles favored by medieval historians began to sharply decline.[1] Collingwood, along with other historians,[... Thu, 04 Jun 2015 09:04 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1045/the-development-of-the-printing-press-and-the-decline-of-the-chronicle-as-historical-method http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/887/exploring-virgilian-structures-in-book-iii-of-spensers-faerie-queene By Vanessa M. Braganza - Contrary to the scintillating promise of its title, Spenser’s Faerie Queene is a far cry from the insubstantial delights of light fantasy fiction. A narrative poem in six books, this hefty labyrinthine work chronicles the quests of the patron knights of six virtues through their perpetual stumblings and successes. Initially upon beholding its very physical bulk as it lies ponderously on the table, one might be excused for believing that there cannot possibly exist syntactic parallels with other works within individual lines of this work. The discovery that Spenser indeed seems to have woven... Sun, 13 Apr 2014 03:37 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/887/exploring-virgilian-structures-in-book-iii-of-spensers-faerie-queene http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/777/womens-fashion-and-the-renaissance-considering-fashion-womens-expression-and-sumptuary-law-in-florence-and-venice By Lydia K. Ethridge - In 1487, Laura Cereta wrote a letter in which she railed against women who “strive by means of exquisite artistry to seem more beautiful that the Author of their beauty decreed.” Cereta represents a voice uncommon among women of her time. Despite her biting remark that women who were “born free … boast to be held captive,” the vast majority of women during her era were already captive by their inability to express themselves. It was, rather, the advent of fashion that allowed them any form of expression whatsoever. It introduced a new, ever-changing form of expression... Thu, 24 Oct 2013 11:32 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/777/womens-fashion-and-the-renaissance-considering-fashion-womens-expression-and-sumptuary-law-in-florence-and-venice